All posts filed under: Education

#TalkPANTS with NSPCC

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If you know me at all, you know that I have for many years longed to make a difference in this world and have been actively and vocally advocating for change, especially when it comes to vulnerable children and adults. So, when last week, NSPCC approached me as a blogger and invited me to be part of their Underwear rule campaign, I felt hugely privileged to be allowed to use my public voice to raise awareness about such a sensitive topic like keeping children safe from sexual abuse. I will start this post by saying that as a young girl raised in communist Romania, I consider myself extremely lucky to have had two very near sexual abuse misses. One occurred one hot summer day, when I was visiting my mum in the hospital where she worked. I don’t know where my brother was that time, we usually did everything together and I am sure, his presence acted as a safety shield many times from sexual predators. But this time, he wasn’t there, my mum’s work …

Transform Halloween into A Night Of Hope

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We all have mental images and maybe memories to associate with Halloween: “Tricks or treats” and buckets of sweets. Rows and rows of scary masks, overpriced sweets and fluorescent nylon tights. Pumpkin carving, pumpkin pie and pumpkin soup. Scary movies, popcorn and warm fireplaces. Witches and broomsticks, pirates and eye patches: little children playing at being someone fierce or scary. A controlled game of fear played in the first world under the protective gaze of loving and caring parents/carers. A choice of facing fear and retreating into loving arms when the scary bits get too frightening. Unfortunately, for many other children in this world, there is no such choice to be had in the day to day life. No choice in NOT getting married to a man three times your age. No choice of NOT losing a parent in a meaningless war. No choice of food as maybe there is no food in the house. No choice of avoiding fear as fear permeates life the same way sound permeates the air, continuously and unavoidably… World …

#REBUILD Campaign

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For me as a young child in Communist Romania life was uncomplicated and rather plain. Sweet in its simplicity and naivety, I suppose. Here is a picture of my Primary One class, we looked so cute and innocent and…unsure of this whole school thing! I suppose back in the day our biggest concerns would have been making friends with our new “bench” mates, having the prettiest ribbons in our hair and impressing our teacher. I don’t recollect that particular day when the photo was taken but among the  things I remember from that first year in primary school was Livia’s long hair and lovely braids and how she could already spell and read(!!). I remember making blotches in my writing book with ink and the stifling feel of my plastic uniform. I remember playing outside at break time and occasionally practicing patriotic marches and songs under the stern direction of our school principal. I remember my first school bag (made of fake leather and put to good use as a sleigh when the first snow …

The moment of truth

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So it looks like I have been living a lie. Not because I chose to but because I believed the reality was different. When I first became pregnant with Emma I experienced a LOT of mood changes. Normal, right? Weeeell, so everybody told me so I chose to believe my hormones were dictating my behaviour and were responsible for me becoming a witch almost overnight. A big, bad witch, as Emma would have described me if she had met me back then. Then, I had Emma and….baby reflux on my hands. So I went from big, bad witch to a wreck of tears, raw emotions and dysfunctionality. In the sense that I couldn’t cope with being up 24/7, coping with a hysterical baby and all the other household responsibilities and had to call my mum to the rescue. Normal, right? Weeeell, so did all my away-from-home friends told me, over a cosy cup of tea, with their mums/sisters/mothers-in-law semi-permanently installed in their homes. But then, time passed and the symptoms didn’t lift. I blamed it …

Healthy Living Challenge: Day 25 – Easter Joys

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This post will not be my typical healthy living entry as such but because Otilia, from Romanian Mum was so keen to find out :-), I will tell you about our new family tradition, an Easter tree!! I actually had seen in before, on two separate occasions but it was only last week, when we were invited for dinner with friends and I saw their own version that I thought: “Aha,  I can actually do this myself!” So last night I sent hubby to find a sturdy tree branch. Fortunately for him, there are loads literally lying around as in preparation for a new road layout and he didn’t have to look long or do anything illegal 🙂 I had bought from PoundLand a few bags of small and medium fluffy chicks, three decorative egg types and some very cute miniature nests. Emma was fully on board with this, helping me hang the eggs, decorating the hollow ones with stickers and filling them up with small treats like chocolate coins and mini-chocolate eggs.  The result …